Why cryptocurrency investors want to destroy Elon Musk with StopElon coin

In a direct attack on billionaire Elon Musk, cryptocurrency fans have released a new crypto to the highly volatile market.

Its market value is all in the name. A new digital currency has just been launched. It’s called StopElon. You can probably guess why.

“Elon Musk is infamous for irresponsibly manipulating the cryptocurrency market with his Twitter account,” the StopElon mission statement reads.

#WHYSTOPELON “He’s toying with people’s portfolios like candy, like the narcissistic billionaire he is and always will be. We say ENOUGH. Hence, we created $StopElon.”

Billionaire Elon Musk is a lightning rod for controversy.

He’s known to tweet before he thinks. He’s prone to petulant outbursts. He’s also known for wildly ambitious projects – some of which succeed.

But the Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur has upset a new crowd: the cryptocurrency community.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Picture: Odd Andersen/AFP

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An online spat between Musk and Bitcoin investors saw the digital currency’s value collapse by 20 per cent.

The highly volatile digital currency market – which has so far produced massive returns for its early backers – is entirely founded on faith. It’s about electrical packets of code, each only accessible by its owner. And each package – or coin – is worth whatever anyone is prepared to pay for it.

Essentially, it’s an investment in an idea. And Musk’s detractors have cottoned on to this. So they’ve built a new digital “coin” with the explicit goal of buying out Tesla and bringing down Elon Musk.

Musk on money

Elon Musk’s no stranger to the crossover between digital domains and the financial markets.

His early career included the creation of an online bank in 1999. This later amalgamated with another to form the popular online transaction system PayPal.

His publicity-loving personality, combined with the marketing success stories that are Tesla and Space X, has given Musk’s words weight.

A single 280-character tweet can send the cryptocurrency market into turmoil. Making such statements on national television can spark a crisis.

On May 7, Elon Musk appeared on the US-based television talk show Saturday Night Live. He made some disparaging jokes about digital currencies – and prices dived.

Specifically, he declared he wanted to give dogecoin a boost in order for it to crush market leader bitcoin.

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Dogecoin started out as a joke. Picture: iStock

Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that started in 2013 as a tongue-in-cheek parody.

It sold an idea. It co-opted an internet meme of a bemused dog to mock the self-obsessed cryptocurrency arena.

Its value went nowhere.

Until, in 2021, when COVID-19 lockdowns revived interest in online trading, doge suddenly presented a speculative opportunity.

Now the idea has taken hold. The parody has gone mainstream. It’s being traded on open cryptocurrency markets but it’s up and down.

Why the volatility?

Elon Musk.

“Anyone with even a shred of critical thinking sees through his lies,” the StopElon currency site declares. “He has been trying to pump crypto for ages, tweeting about it to no end, and even going to Saturday Night Live as a final resort to get dogecoin up! It’s ridiculous!”

Power games

StopElon isn’t just another investment. It’s a movement. A protest. An idea.

Targeting Elon Musk gives investors an outlet for their frustrations – with the promise of monetary reward.

At the moment, these particular clusters of electrons hold almost no value.

But StopElon’s creators are hoping that Musk mania will send prices soaring.

Its success depends entirely on whether or not enraged investors are inspired enough.

And Musk is a magnet for attention. And fury.

“Just recently, he did it again, causing a massive crash across all frontiers when he tweeted that Tesla will cease to accept Bitcoin as payment,” the company’s web page states. “It’s ridiculous!”

Tesla & Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2021

Accusations of market manipulation have long stained the reputation of cryptocurrencies.

The current spat isn’t making it any better.

But behind the war of words is a set of serious questions.

How much is an idea worth anyway?

Invest in gold and, at the end of the day, you get a lump of shiny metal. Invest in art, and you get something pretty to look at. Invest in real estate, and you’re purchasing accommodation.

But cryptocurrencies have no physical form beyond pockets of coded electrons.

Maintaining – and generating – these electron-based “coins” consumes electricity.

Lots of it.

The industry is already accused of driving more climate change-generating power consumption than many physical countries.

All for the sake of the idea of making more digital money.

StopElon’s particular spin on this idea is to take control of Tesla’s traditional stock.

The stated goal is to … “fly to f**ing Pluto”.

The coming weeks will see how sold on this idea investors really are.

Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @JamieSeidel